Building a stash
 

Hi,

I would like to hear your thoughts on building a fabric stash for free or fairly cheap. Thanks for sharing.

Well, I don't know about 'free' unless you have access to fabric that is being gifted or about to be thrown in the trash. As for fairly cheap, keep an eye out for sales, check your Goodwill, and check Craig's list.

Don't forget recycling things like shirts and other cotton clothing.

Join a guilting group, they share liberally, fabric, tips, constructive assistance.

If you are into recycling, you can check thrift stores for clothing.
Sign up for promotions at fabric sites: Connecting THreads, Fabric.Com, Thousands of bolts etc. They will alert you of sales.
Also, sign the mailing list at you Local Quilt Shop(s) to hear about their promotions.

As you make projects, your stash will naturally grow. I advise against going out and just randomly buying fabric on sale, unless you have a specific project in mind. The only exception I think is finding light print neutrals, black, white or other solids that you know you can use in future projects. When I first started out, I bought some 'stash' fabric, willy-nilly, many fat quarters and I still have a lot of it, as it just never was 'right' for a project.
Another important factor is your style of quilts, or the types of fabrics/designs you will make. I tend to make more modern, geometric pattern quilts, so florals, calico prints just hardly ever work for me, and some of the earlier fabrics I bought were these because I thought they were pretty. As you get more experience, you will learn your preferences. Now, I buy solid white and black by the bolt on sale, and most solid colors on sale too, as I know I will use them.

Look into anywhere you can buy end of bolts or remnants. At many places these are substantially discounted and over time you will get enough coordinating fabrics to make quilts, not scrappy ones, either. Of course there are always scrappy quilts, too. I'm fond of scrappies myself.

I know someone who buys primarily at thrift shops and also picks up quite a bit via freecycle. She also does a lot of charity sewing and some of those organizations will pass along fabric to her as well. She has developed quite a nice stash this way in a relatively short period of time (2-3 years).

Have patience - the stash will build naturally. Right now just buy for your project. If you're like me you will buy substantially more fabric than you need because one or more - once you get them home - will not be "quite" right and you will venture forth for just one more piece.
Ask me how I know...

I started quilting right before Christmas 6 years ago. When people asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told them I wanted fabric. When asked for details, I said 2 yards of something purple, cats, daisies, or anything that looked like fun. I got 33 yards of fabric that Christmas, most in two yard pieces, some in three. It was fun for me. True, I still have some of that fabric, but most of it has found a home in a quilt.

Perhaps this idea will be something that interests you.

Dina